Tribes: Ascend Game Guide
The next big name in Free-To-Play is Tribes Ascend, and Hi-Rez Studios hopes you agree. The jetpack and skiing gameplay of previous Tribes games is retained with some new features like loadouts letting you customize your armors, weapons, and items. Classic gaming modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag return, with other modes like Arena and Capture & Hold rounding out the roster, where earning money for killing, capturing, and repairing is tantamount to victory. Earned cash goes to buying new weapons, orbital strikes, or base upgrades to improve your defenses and support your allies in the big fight.
If you’re curious what free-players will have access to, check out our game guide below to get all the extra information you can handle on Tribes: Ascend.
Give Tribes: Ascend a try by downloading the game for free right here.
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Light Armor Class Guide
The four armor types associated with light armor are the Pathfinder, the Sentinal, the Infiltrator, and the Jumper.
Pathfinders: Great speed and acceleration. Decent control. The weakest aspect is is durability. The Nitro Ammo talent is one of the most important talents this class possesses- it is the ability that you are going to use to knock the flags out of your opponents hands. To use this ability, you throw it like a grenade.
The health regeneration talent is fairly self explanatory- the rate at which you regenerate health goes up in correspondence to the particular talent.
The other talents related to this class include upgrades in the spinfuser and shotgun ammo abilities.
Please note that the strategic order in which you purchase talents is very important.
The Sentinal is the second class of light armor options. The sentinel’s biggest strength is the range. Decent stats include speed. The sentinel’s biggest weakness is, again, durability.
The sentinel should mainly be used for strong defensive stops, as well as its sniping abilities.
Talents include upgrades to the Drop Jammer (the sentinel’s main weapon) radius. You can also upgrade the Drop Jammer’s health. In addition, you are able to make upgrades to the Nova Blaster, as well as basic stats like energy and speed.
A very important ability to take note of is the Wheel Deal. This one will enable you to get around the map much more easily.
The sentinel is able to make upgrades to his Claymore related abilities. Again, the order in which you purchase the talents does matter and impact gameplay strategically.
The Infiltrator has stealth capabilities, including sticky grenades and a stealth pack that allows him to go invisible.
The Infiltrator displays good speed and decent control. Again, its weakest point is going to be durability.. seeing how this IS the light armor class :].
The infiltrator is fairly difficult to use and takes some practice. Once mastered, this branch of the light armor class will really help you with your attacks.
You can upgrade your Rhino, your Sticky Grenade efficiency (including damage and radius). Of course, some of the most important upgrades include the stealth talents that the infiltrator is able to learn.
The infiltrator’s range of attack is medium.
The Jumper uses the Bolt Launcher and a Sawed Off Shotgun as his main weapons. Strengths include acceleration and control. The weakness- you guessed it, durability!
The Jumper closes distances extremely quickly. As the name implies, he jumps high up and fast. Although his speed is average, the acceleration for Jumpers is exceptional.
Talents include upgrades to the jump pack (including energy cost efficiency and potency). A very key ability of this class is the Safe Fall ability, which greatly reduces the damage you take when you land after a high jump. You will also be able to make upgrades to your bolt launcher. Other than that, you will have the usual universal abilities (along the lines of health regeneration, etc).
Medium Armor Class Guide
The four medium armor categories include the Technician, the Raider, the Soldier, and the Scrambler.
The Technician is primarily used for support type defensive purposes.
A lot of the Technician’s abilities involve upgrades to his turrets. You will also be able to upgrade your grenade ammo with a few of the abilities. Once again, the order in which the talents are purchased will be important depending on how you utilize your characters.
The Raider sports a pretty nice grenade launcher. Strengths include speed and durability.
In terms of abilities, you will be able to upgrade your MJ4 weapon in several ways. You will also be able to upgrade aspects of your grenade launcher such as blast radius and clip size.
The Soldier is weak against anti-armor. Most of the soldier’s stats are pretty average. Consequently, the soldiers are fairly basic and easy to use.
The soldiers are an all around type and can be used for attack and defense equally.
The biggest ability to take note of is the Bounty Hunter ability. It costs a LOT (a whopping 14,000), but it will make you pick up a lot more points after each battle if you make the investment, making other abilities much easier to get. Other than that, the upgradable abilities are fairly standard and across the board, increasing stats like speed and health regeneration.
The Scrambler has an ARX Buster, a Sparrow, a Jammer Pack, and a Whiteout Grenade.
The scrambler’s biggest strength is durability. He is also able to reveal to you stealth hostiles, which will prove to be very important in the game.
You will be able to upgrade whiteout radius and duration, increase ammo capacity for the ARX Buster, range for your Jammer, and of course, the typical health regeneration talents.
The Ranger is fairly flexible in terms of combat contexts and is very damaging in close range combat (although his range is decent overall).
You will be able to upgrade speed, ski control, and the typical stats at first. Later on, you will be able to increase Thumper ammo capacity, grenade logistics, and health regeneration.
Heavy Armor Class Guide
The heavy armor class consists of the Brute, the Doombringer, and the Juggernaut.
The Brute is EXTREMELY durable. Unfortunately, he is also slow and mostly useful in close range combat. The Brute’s weapons include the Heavy Spinfusor, an Automatic Shotgun, and Spike Grenades.
The upgrades are fairly intuitive- you will be able to upgrade ammo, clip size, and grenade capacity. As usual, the basics such as ski control and health regeneration are also available talents that you can purchase.
The Doombringer carries a Chain Gun, a Saber Launcher, a Force Field, and a Light Sticky. I have to say, this class is intimidating as all heck. However, it’s not all good, as speed is a major weak point. Strengths include anti-armor and durability (surprise surprise!). Range for this class falls on moderate.
Upgradable talents skills include upgrades to the Doombringer’s force field. You will be able to make upgrades to the chain gun in the fourth column and upgrades to the sticky grenade in the last column.
The Juggernaut has low speed and control, as do the others in the heavy armor class. Of course, durability is a big plus. The Juggernaut has a Fusion Mortar, a Spinfusor NKD, a Regen Pack, and a Super AP Grenade (probably the coolest grenade in the game).
Upgrades include Mortar abilities in the first column, universal attributes such as energy and control in the second column, spinfusor upgrades in the third column, health regeneration in the fourth column, and grenade upgrades in the fifth and final column.
Soldier Guide
The soldier is the most basic and easy to use class in the game.
The soldier is also versatile and does not specialize in a specific task. He can be used for base attack and defense, attacking within fields, etc etc. Because of this, the Soldier is also very good in switching in between different roles on the fly.
The Soldier’s first weapon is the Assault Rifle. This is a good overall weapon to use when you are outside but is fairly basic in its functionality.
The Spinfusor, the Soldier’s second weapon, follows one strong bullet in a straight line in front of where you are aiming it.
The PumperDX is the Soldier’s next weapon and it fires grenades. This weapon is best used in close range combat and when in close proximity indoors.
You can purchase the Eagle Piston for the Soldier as well, an additional gun that is great for finishing enemies off when their health is low.
The Soldier has three possible items that he can wear on his belt. They are the Frag Grenade XL, the Proximity Grenade, and the Anti-Personnel Grenade.
The Frag Grenade deals a small amount of damage for a grenade but makes up for it by having a higher attack radius.
The Anti Personnel Grenade is essentially the opposite of the Frag Grenade- greater damage but a smaller attack radius.
The Proximity Grenade, as the name might suggest, detonates based off of how close it is to the enemy. If you throw it far away from an enemy, it will take longer to blow up. Inversely, if you throw it close to an enemy, it will explode almost immediately.
Grenades are good for using in close quarters and when indoors. Lastly, the Soldier has an Energy Pack and a Utility Pack that are both upgradable.
Technician Guide
The Technician is used for Base Defense.
The Technicians first weapon is the TCN4 SMG. This SMG is definitely an outdoor weapon with a good firing rate and a 32 bullet per clip limit.
The Thumper fires an explosive grenade and is, like most grenade weapons, best used indoors.
The Improved Repair Tool repairs things much more quickly than regular repair tools.
You can also purchase the Sawed off Shotgun for the Technician. This weapon fires multiple shots consecutively and is good for close range combat. Since the Technician should almost exclusively be used for base defense, this is a great addition to the Technician’s arsenal.
The Sparrow is a pistol that is slightly weaker than that of the Soldier. Otherwise, it works in the exact same way- good overall weapon and strong in field combat.
The Technician has two possibilities for belt items. The first of these is the Technician Grenade, which you probably won’t find yourself using too often since it is weaker than most other grenades.
The second belt item is the Motion Sensor. The Motion Sensor isn’t used to deal any heavy damage but is great for exposing stealth. Again, a great tool for defending your base. Plant them around corners if you sense an attack coming!
The Technicians also sport Light Turrets. These are extremely handy when it comes to- you guessed it- setting traps to defend your base.
Pathfinder Guide
The Pathfinder, along with the Soldier and the Juggernaut, is one of the classes that you will have for free.
The Light Spinfusor is the Pathfinder’s first weapon. This gun shoots projectiles and is definitely more difficult to use than the more standard guns.
The Bolt Launcher is a fairly damaging weapon and is used for calculated and precise hits in open areas.
The Shotgun is the Pathfinder’s first secondary weapon and functions in the same way that regular guns do, except the shots are more spread out upon firing.
You can purchase the Light Assault Rifle.. they’re great for taking out flag carriers and chasing.
The Pathfinder’s belt items include the Impact Nitron and the Explosive Nitron. The Impact Nitron functions to make other classes drop flags as they are carrying them while the Explosive Nitron functions like a regular grenade.
Juggernaut Guide
The Juggernaut’s default weapon is the Fusion Mortar. This weapon basically fires heavy sniping type shots from a distance. It’s a devastating weapon in terms of damage but takes some skill to learn to use.
You can also elect to purchase the MIRV Launcher. This is essentially a better version of the Fusion Mortar, as the ammo splits up in the air and goes in all directions for a much higher attack radius. The drawback here, of course, is that the damage for each split is less than a single shot of the Fusion Mortar. This is great, however, for taking out waves of enemies AND base defenses (lines of turrets, etc).
The Spinfusor MKD is similar to the Soldier’s Spinfusor, except it is less damaging.
You can unlock the X1 LMG. This assault rifle has a huge clip and is very devastating to both Light and Medium Armor classes. This weapon deals damage in a hurry.
The Juggernaut’s belt items include the Heavy AP Grenade. This is the best grenade in the game.
The Spinfusor Disk grenades are pretty awesome.. they are like spinfusor shots, only twice as efficient.
The Juggernaut comes with a Health Regen Pack, allowing for quicker restoration of health when outside of a battle.
Raider Guide
The Raider is a Medium Armor class that you will have to purchase.
The primary weapon of the Raider is the Arx Buster. This weapon fires three shots and is great for precise shots to take out enemies and base defenses.
You can purchase the Grenade Launcher, which fires grenades that explode at long range and bounce at close range. Like the other grenade weapons, this is great to use indoors and in close quarters.
The next weapon is the NJ4 SMG. This weapon has a larger clip than the Technician’s SMG but deals the same amount of damage.
The EMP Grenade is the first of the Raider’s belt items. This grenade deals damage like other grenades. Aside from this, however, it also has a function that no other grenade has- it will drain the energy out of the target that you hit. This is EXTREMELY useful for stopping anyone you are chasing, cornering low HP targets and stunning them before finishing them off, etc.
The Whiteout Grenade, as the name might suggest, basically creates a bright flash that momentarily blinds your enemy. This is another extremely useful grenade that the Raider possesses. It is for this reason that I feel that the Raider has the best belt items in the game. The Whiteout Grenade is great for demobilizing and disorienting your opponents. Feel free to use these anywhere.
The Raider sports the Shield Pack takes your energy and converts it into health. You can also decide to buy the Jammer Pack which turns your armor white and makes you a lot less detectable.
The Raider is going to be used in your attack line. They are absolutely excellent at countering Technicians (in fact, they are like the polar opposites). In lue of this, they can really make life easier for your Infiltrators on offense.
Doombringer Guide
The Doombringer is an offensive powerhouse and is mainly used for dealing damage in combat.
The Doombringer’s main weapon is the Chain Gun. This is the strongest assault weapon in the game. This gun fires right where you aim it and can deal damage very quickly.
The Doombringer can also use the Heavy Bolt Launcher, which is another weapon that fires in an arc. The bolts fired do explode on contact, making this an excellent weapon for long range attacks and for hitting enemies across a distance.
The Saber Launcher happens to be the Doombringer’s only secondary weapon. This one will definitely take some getting used to, as there is no weapon quite like it. Essentially, you can target enemies while they are in the air. This weapon will launch a homing missile at the target that will follow it. It will explode upon contact with terrain or can be shot down before it hits your enemy, but otherwise, it won’t explode until then. A huge advantage with this weapon is the fact that it can target all vehicles (yes, even the ones on the ground!). Using this one properly in these types of contexts will definitely give you a great advantage.
The Doombringer has two options for belt items: The Frag Grenade and Mines. The Flag Grenades, are, unfortunately, quite useless as they are the weakest grenades in the game. You can use them to pick off enemies that are barely clinging to life. Otherwise, you’re not going to gain any significant ground with these Frag Grenades.
The Mines are much more useful than the Frag Grenades, BUT.. you have to purchase them. They are just peachy for placing strategically to pick off enemies and protect your base. In fact, this is probably one of the only two times I’d recommend ever considering using the Doombringer for defensive purposes.
The Doombringer has the Force Field, which brings me to the other scenario in which you can use him for some stellar defense. The force field can be set up strategically and will damage enemies that run through it. It will also reveal stealth and help you spot those pesky Infiltrators.
Sentinal Guide
The Sentinal is a sniper class and should be used for long distance fighting. He can be used for both attack and defense quite well depending on the extent of the skill of the user.
The Sentinal’s first weapon is the BXT1 Rifle. This is one of his free weapons that causes 500 damage upon impact and must be scoped for full damage.
The Nova Blaster is another weapon you get free with the Sentinal. This weapon can be quite annoying for the opposition if you are probing with it for the simple reason that it can bounce off walls. /li>
You can elect to purchase the Phase Rifle which is slightly more dmaging than the BXt1 Rifle. This weapon consumes 90 energy.
You can also purchase the Falcon Pistol which attacks quickly but is not very damaging.
The Sentinal sports some Claymore Mines which are great for using indoors and planting around tight spaces. They explode upon contact and work well when used offensively and defensively.
You can also acquire T5 Grenades (for a fee). These are more damaging than the Claymore Mines and result in a small knockback when used.
One should also take note of the Drop Jammer that is available to the Sentinal. This object is great for really messing with your enemy’s radar.
Infiltrator Guide
The Infiltrators are mainly used on the offensive end in order to sneak past enemies’ defenses. For this reason, they sport a Stealth Pack which will make the Infiltrator hard to see in exchange for some energy.
The Infiltrator’s first weapon is the Rhino SMG which comes for free and can be fired without any detection on the map.
You can purchase the Stealth Spinfusor and the Jackal. The Jackal is an interesting weapon in that it will stick to your enemy and detonates by you controlling it remotely.
Another one of the weapons you will get for free when playing as the Infiltrator is the SN7 Silenced Pistol. This pistol is pretty damaging and can fire without map detection. It is good to use in outdoor and field combat at several different ranges.
You can buy Throwing Knives for the Infiltrator which are easy to use and can be pretty damaging upon direct impact. The Infiltrator also carries Sticky Grenades, which you get for free, and are very damaging when they explode. There is definitely a knockback for these grenades.
The Infiltrators are the best class in the game for doing things like sneaking into generator rooms and destroying the enemy’s generators. Be careful though, they can be taken out pretty easily by Mechanics, so be very careful going around corners and learn to watch for the obvious base defenses.
Flag Punting Guide
Whenever you are running with a flag and need to quickly get rid of it (such as in a low health scenario), flag punting might be one of the best options available to you.
The concept of flag punting involves shooting the flag right after you throw it while it is still in the air. This will greatly increase the distance that the flag will cover.
Something very important to keep in mind when flag punting is to “punt” the flag in the same direction that you are facing and that your momentum is carrying you.
The Spinfusors are typically the best weapons to use in order to punt the flag while its in the air.
Skiing and Speed Guide
The fastest characters in the game all belong to the Light Armor Class. You can reach speeds with these classes that you cannot reach with the others. For this reason, the Light Armor Class characters are typically the ones used to secure flags and make the getaways.
Many characters that sport the Spinfusor (such as the Pathfinder, who is actually great at this) are able to propel themselves to very high speeds by shooting against terrain to gain momentum. Use this technique to increase your getaway speeds. This will also make it easier for you to track down enemy flag carriers as well.
You can also use grenades for self propulsion. These work extremely well to add momentum and speed to your character.
In order to get the most speed while skiing, it is important to make a conscious effort to land on smooth downhill surfaces while you are in the air. Once you reach an uphill incline, give yourself a little boost and let go of it immediately once you’re heading a downhill surface that’s smooth again. It’s like breathing in and out, and once you are able to get the timing you will be adding onto your speed on every downhill slope without losing any speed on the uphill slopes. This will ensure a continuous gain of speed over time.
The last thing to take note of is that energy conservation is extremely important when it comes to skiing. Make sure you are only using your energy when you absolutely have to going uphill.
On the same note, make sure that you use energy when you have to and aren’t too stingy with it. Being stingy will result in you losing speed when you really don’t want to. This will make it extremely difficult for you to catch a skilled player.
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